THE GARDENING WORLD. 
689 
June 22 , 1901 . 
thoroughly drain the walk and mix plenty of lime in 
the soil underneath it 
Plants for Growing under Trees.— P. R. : Two 
of the best subjects for such a position as you wish 
to cover are Periwinkle and the Christmas Rose, or 
if these do not suit, try Ivy, Aucubas, Butcher's 
Broom and the large-flowered St. John’s Wort 
(Hypericum calycinum). 
PTERIS ALBO-LINEATA ALEXANDRAE. 
Few of the Ferns are fetter adapted for table and 
sitting-room decorations generally than some of the 
species and varieties of Pteris, particularly Pteris 
cretica, P. c. albo-lineata, P. c. Mayi, P. Wimsetti, 
P. nobilis, P. tremula, and various others. Other 
forms are equally handsome, though not so largely 
grown. The new form being put into commerce bids 
fair to be extensively grown in a few years. It has 
all the grace and elegance of the best forms of P. 
cretica which have yet appeared in cultivation, but 
the variegation is more extensive and better defined, 
if anything. The broad pinnae are pearly white and 
margined with bright green, while they terminate in 
large, round crests which aid their drooping habit, 
especially in the case of the fertile fronds. The barren 
ones are naturally broader and of drooping habit. 
Mr. H. B. May, of Dyson’s Lane Nurseries, Upper 
Edmonton, who is putting this handsome Fern into 
commerce, states that it “ may be correctly described 
as the finest variegated Fern ever introduced ; it is 
of robust growth and stately habit.” He exhibited 
it in his fine group of Ferns and foliage plants at the 
Temple show. The accompanying illustration of 
it is from The Gardener, by permission of Messrs. 
Cassell & Co. It shows the habit and elegant con¬ 
tour of a plant of the fullest size usually grown for 
market purposes. 
BOTHWELL CASTLE, LANARKSHIRE. 
Bothwell Castle, one of the residences of the 
Earl of Home, is in many respects the most notable 
place in the West of Scotland. Its lords and earls 
from an early period have performed an important 
part in the great drama of Scottish history. The 
precincts, as well as the entire entourage, are hallowed 
by their associations with Scotland's greatest heroes 
—Wallace, the Bruce, and the Douglas. The old 
castle, now in ruins, stands upon the banks of the 
river Clyde, surrounded by scenery that can 
scarcely be equalled. The ruinous castle, perhaps, 
is peerless as far as Scotland is concerned, for it is 
one of the most palatial monuments of antiquity we 
possess. In many parts the masonry is almost 
entire, though the date of its foundation is uncertain. 
It flourished, however, in the days of Wallace and 
Bruce, and possibly may have been an important 
stronghold in the days of the Celtic kings, perhaps, 
indeed, one of their seats, for two of the Alexanders 
occupied the neighbouring Castle of Cadzcw. 
It has been singularly unfortunate in its frequent 
change of proprietors, as we shall see. Early in the 
14th century Bruce made a grant pf the castle and 
possessions to Sir Andrew Murray, who was married 
to his sister, Christian Bruce. This Murray was 
afterwards regent of Scotland. At this period of 
Scottish history, the times were extremely turbulent, 
not to say disastrous to the nation, by the constant 
oppression of the “Hammer of Scotland,” the 
" Edwardus Malleus Longus Scotorum.” And he 
having on one of these expeditions reduced the 
castle, made a grant of it to Sir Aymer de Valance, 
Duke of Pembroke, whom he also made governor of 
Scotland. Pembroke, however, does not seem to 
have held possession very long, for shortly after, 
wards when Bruce restored Scottish affairs to some¬ 
thing like harmony, Murray returned from exile and 
had his possessions of Bothwell restored to him. 
The heiress of Murray having espoused Sir Archi¬ 
bald Earl of Douglas, the possessions were conveyed 
to that noble house, and remained in the family for 
nearly two centuries, when the downfall of the 
Douglases in the reign of James II. incurred for¬ 
feiture. The Crichtons, a family of some influence 
at the time, whose residence was in Edinburgh 
county, came into possession of Bothwell Castle on 
the downfall of the Douglases, They also forfened 
it, and James III. granted it to a favourite, John 
Ramsey, who, too, forfeited it. It went then in turn 
to the Moneypennys, the Hepburns, the Stewarts, 
the Scotts of Buccleugh and Roxburgh, the Earl of 
Angus, the Earl of Forfar, who rebuilt the modern 
mansion, and then to the Douglases again after a 
lapse of many centuries. Edward III. is said to 
have lived a month in this castle. 
Of the Hepburn dynasty, it is noteworthy to refer 
to the flagitious James Earl of Bothwell, so well 
known to readers of the history of our ill fated Queen 
Mary Stewart. This Earl was the instigator of the 
scandalous murder of Lord Darnley, the Queen’s 
Consort. The marriage and the subsequent events 
connected therewith are too well known to be 
repeated. The Earl died in banishment a dejected 
and miserable wretch—a just punishment for the 
contumely he had brought upon the character of the 
too susceptible Mary Stewart. 
Both the ruin and the modern mansion of Both¬ 
well are enclosed in an extensive park, through 
which flows the river Clyde. The mansion is a 
spacious but plain building, and was rebuilt by the 
Earl of Forfar, who afterwards was killed in the 
battle of Dunblane, better known in some parts of 
Scotland as the battle of Sheriffmuir. The mansion 
is beautifully situated in a comparatively level part 
of the wide tracts of lawns or parks which on every 
side surround it, and is but a very short distance 
from the ruin of the castle. The lawns are well 
dotted over with very old specimen Oaks and other 
forest trees, which, along with the ponderous app‘ar- 
ance of the ruin, is a prospect grand in the 
extreme. 
Though the immediate proximity of the mansion 
is so very fine in prospect, the real grandeur of the 
place is in the vicinity of the old castle. As we 
already observed, the river flows near to the castle, 
and in its course forms an extremely exquisite valley, 
varied in features from bold rocky cliffs to low, 
mossy, and reedy banks. This serpentine valley is 
covered with wood of Nature’s own planting, which 
gives a massiveness of no common kind to the land¬ 
scape, and, as seen from the summit of the Douglas 
tower, whcse staircase en passant is almost entire 
throughout, the view on every hand is supreme. 
Deep down in the valley, fearfully far below, flows 
the waters of the river, here and there broken in 
foam by outcropping rocks, is a sight, we opine, 
which is not without its influence of terror and 
admiration combined. And as a temporary relief 
from the strong power of such a prospect, one with¬ 
draws his range of vision to a closer inspection of 
the gigantic edifice on which he parily stands; his 
amazement is truly not much lessened. Here he 
sees walls of stone and mortar, varying in thickness 
from 15 ft. to 60 ft., and there beautifully- traced 
windows indicative of the superior handicraft of our 
early ancestors, over the workmanship of the average 
builder of the present day. And in consideration of 
the excellence of the prospect which the summit of 
the tower affords, one can scarcely help thinking 
that not only were our ancestors wise in their 
generation in the selection of suitable places for the 
erection of fortifications, but were also alive to the 
beauties of nature. 
Much valuable information has been acquired re¬ 
garding the original outline and extent of the castle 
from recent excavations carried out by the Earl 
under the able superintendence of his land steward 
and gardener, Mr. Archibald. These earlier founda¬ 
tions have been traced and left exposed to the view, 
and would lead one to suppose that this fortalice 
was at least double the size it now is. And as the 
vestiges of two towers were discovered the inference 
may well be deduced that the building in its original 
state was a quadrangular block fortified with a tower 
at each angle. 
En tout cas one thing is very evident. Whatever 
the form may have been, or the period when built, 
that much wealth was possessed by the founder, for 
unlike the general run of our ancient buildings, this 
castle in its exterior parts is finished with polished 
sandstone. On the opposite side of the river, situ¬ 
ated upon a precipiious cliff, staods the ruin of an 
old abbey whose foundation probably may have 
been coeval with the castle itself. 
It is remarkable to observe the tenacity of the Oak 
here. A line of these hardy veterans is to be seen 
through the parks and lawns, and they are supposed 
to mark the line of the ancient approach to the 
castle. It is truly impossible for any one possessing 
a degree of imaginary powers to look upon these 
struggling heroes, without feeling a pang of sorrow 
tempered with admiration. Gigantic ruins of past 
centuries, in their dotage, as it were, unwilling to 
die, linger year after year, like noble sentinels, 
guarding with jealous eye their original commission, 
but which, alas ! has long ceased to exist. 
I need scarcely mention that the valley along 
the course of the river is laid out with pleasure 
Pteris albo-lineata Alexandrae. 
